EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Duty cuts to marginally benefit consumers of high-end products
THE reduction in peak customs duty and the abolishment of the special additional duty by the Government may not result in a drastic reduction in the end-price for the consumer of high-end items. Companies importing high-end products, such as ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
SAFTA - a route to spur growth
AFTER missing deadlines to bring into fruition the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement twice, the leaders of the South Asian countries at long last realised that openness to trade and investment among themselves would alone be the ... More

Indo-Israel trade meet to boost economic ties
INDIA-ISRAEL Joint Trade and Economic Committee (JTEC) will hold its third session in Tel Aviv, Israel from January 14 for two-days with the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, leading a high-level official and business ... More

India, Gulf nations keen to expand trade ties
INDIA and the Gulf Cooperation Council have vowed to improve bilateral trade and explore business opportunities in the areas of oil and gas, knowledge-based products, education, health and other investments. Representatives from India and the ... More

HEALTH
'Rich reap more than poor from healthcare sops'
IT'S not the poor who are benefiting from Government subsidies in healthcare, but the rich indicated the World Bank report on Health Policy Research in South Asia. The findings indicate that there are large inequalities in health outcomes and ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Write off Bangalore-Mysore expressway project, say NGOs
THREE non-governmental organisations have urged the State Government to write off the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP) for irregularities in the project and on legal and social grounds. The project involving the ... More

Jaitley advocates urban renewal
The Union Minister of Law and Justice, Commerce and Industry, Mr Arun Jaitely, on Friday called for leveraging the potential of the middle class and wanted the country to go for urban renewal by building mega cities. Addressing the valedictory ... More

Banks, FIs asked to raise funds for infrastructure projects
THE Government has asked a consortium of banks and financial institutions to catalyse an additional investment of Rs 50,000 crore over three years in infrastructure and manufacturing projects spread across several sectors including power ... More

POWER
Tala transmission project achieves financial closure
THE 1,200-km Tala power transmission project, being executed by Powerlinks Transmission Ltd, a joint venture between Power Grid Corporation and Tata Power, has achieved financial closure. The inter-state project, which will set up 400 kv power ... More

Power utilities seek higher exemptions
STATES and power utilities have sought higher exemptions on customs duties on coal in addition to the reductions provided by the Finance Ministry. Sources said that States have sought complete rationalisation of duties between the various ... More

SSI
Govt plans to set up Rs 10,000-cr SME fund
IN order to provide adequate financial resources at competitive rates to small and medium enterprises, the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, today announced the plan for creation of a Rs 10,000 crore Small and Medium Enterprises Fund (SME ... More

TYRES
Bumpy road ahead for domestic tyre makers
THE `mini-budget' unveiled by the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, on Thursday has come as a "mixed bag" for the Rs 12,000-crore domestic tyre industry. Industry insiders, however, held that the decisions could make the going tough for tyre ... More

WATER
Vypeen water project to be commissioned by year-end
WORK on the Hudco assisted drinking water project for the Vypeen islands would be completed and commissioned by December, according to Mr M.A. Kuttappan, Minister for SC/ST Welfare. Land acquisition for the project would be completed and it ... More

COAL
Duty cut may ease burden of coal consumers
BULK coal consuming industries, particularly in the coastal states, have reason to be happy with the reduction of import duty on non-coking from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, and abolition of special additional duty (SAD) of 4 per cent, as ... More

RADIO/TV
`ASC Enterprises airing DD channels without permission'
THE Subash Chandra promoted ASC Enterprises has rubbed the national broadcaster, Prasar Bharati the wrong way. The company has not sought any formal permission to offer Doordarshan channels on its direct-to-home (DTH) platform. Speaking to ... More

Set-top box: Concessional duty till Feb 29
EVEN as the final word is yet to be written on the roll out and implementation of the Conditional Access System (CAS) in Delhi, the Finance Ministry is learnt to have extended up to February 29, the validity of the concessional customs duty rate ... More

EDUCATION
Education loans for needy students at cheaper rates
THE Finance Ministry has signalled happier times for students facing a fund crunch in attaining higher education. The Ministry has asked banks to extend loans for "bright but needy" youngsters at 2 percentage points below their Prime Lending ... More

Plastics institute plans to start M.Tech courses
THE Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET), which plans to commence masters degree courses in collaboration with Anna University, is seeking "Institute of National Importance" status. Addressing pressperspons here, ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
It's a boost to reforms: CII
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said the new measures announced by the Union Government would further enhance the competitiveness of the economy and propel the country into a higher growth orbit. "These measures clearly reflect ... More

Cochin Chamber hails Jaswant sops
THE Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry has welcomed the "growth-oriented" economic measures announced by the Union Government on Thursday, saying that the initiatives will spur the country on to greater growth as well as improving its ... More

PHDCCI hails Govt measures
THE PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has welcomed the second batch of concessions announced by the Government on Friday. Mr Wig, President of PHDCCI, said that the announcement, that Food Corporation of India will be allowed to ... More

Madras Chamber seeks better tax norms for assessment
THE Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has mooted "bold experiments" in changing the procedures of assessing for direct taxation, so that assessees "are made to feel comfortable in the tax environment". In its pre-Budget memorandum ... More

DISINVESTMENT
Maruti: Govt open to sale of residual stake to Suzuki
THE Government on Friday said that it is open to selling its residual stake of 18.1 per cent in Maruti Udyog Ltd to Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC). ``The Government has started the process of selling its residual 18.1 per cent stake in Maruti ... More

SMALL SAVINGS
EPF details at Ambattur thru computer
MEMBERS of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's sub accounts office at Ambattur can directly get information about their claims through a computer terminal at the facilitation centre. According to a press release from the provident fund ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Another SOS village opened
SOS Children's Villages of India, a non-profit organisation providing direct and indirect care to children, has opened its second village in the State at Vottinagulapally in Ranga Reddy district on Friday. Spread across five acres and ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Govt announces new rural housing scheme
THE Government today announced a new rural housing scheme, titled `Atal Grameen Griha Yojana', that seeks to take the prevailing low interest regime to the villages. As an incentive to the banks and housing finance companies, the Government ... More

REGULATORY BODIES & RULINGS
Now, TRAI to deal with CAS issue
WILL the conditional access system (CAS) be deferred or not? Ask not the Government but the new regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Even as the BJP-led NDA is preparing for an early general elections and the CAS fiasco ... More

EVENTS
PM lifts cap on investment abroad — Corporates can undertake overseas farm activities
THE Government's pre-election largesse to the corporate sector continues. After a slew of duty cuts announced by the Finance Ministry on Thursday, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Friday allowed Indian corporates to make overseas ... More

Coastal Karnataka awaits corporate patronage — Round table to highlight region's potential
COASTAL Karnataka, especially Mangalore, which has a considerable number of industries, needs exposure to corporate sector. Though some major industrial projects in petroleum, steel and power were planned in the region a few years ago, they ... More

Norms for intra-circle mergers in telecom sector soon
THE norms for intra-circle mergers and acquisitions in the telecom sector will be issued in 15 days' time, said Mr Pradip Baijal, Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), speaking on the sidelines at a seminar on `Communications ... More

Bryan Adams concert next month
THE UB Group's McDowell No 1, along with Pepsi, Britannia, Hero Honda and Channel [V], is hosting a Bryan Adams event in Delhi early next month. Announcing this at a press conference here on Friday, Dr Vijay Mallya, Chairman, UB Group, said, ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Over 20 pc fall in tea exports
TEA exports continued to head south registering more than 20 per cent decline during January-November 2003. Total exports during the period were 143.7 million kg against 184.7 mkg during the same period in 2002. Tea production, however, has ... More

TOURISM
Floating cottage launched at Poovar
TOURISM has grown into an important industry in Kerala, but unscientific and unhealthy growth is a serious problem in some of the State's major tourist destinations, said Mr K.V. Thomas, State Minister for Tourism and Fisheries. He made this ... More

Tourism bodies welcome duty cut on ATF
THE tourism and travel industry in Kerala has welcomed the Union Government'sannouncement that excise duty on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) would be reduced from 16 per cent to 8 per cent and that the 15 per cent inland air travel tax (IATT) will ... More

PEOPLE